01
Flip a segment
Turn a solid segment through 180° to reveal the opposite face — its gears ride the flip.
Roselathe
A handcrafted circular flip-and-slide puzzle for iPhone and iPad
See Roselathe moveFREE · OPTIONAL ONE-TIME COMPLETE UNLOCK
One rim · four spokes · two surfaces
Flip the segments.
Slide the gears.
Bring every gear home.
Every gear moves along the track beneath it. Flip a segment to reveal its opposite face, then use the four spokes to move gears between the center and rim.
Read the machine
Three actions define the puzzle.
Each rule is physical and visible. Tap a clip to watch the real mechanism perform it — flip a segment, slide a gear, turn the complete puzzle. Then let Finish It show how the moves combine.
02
Slide a gear
Move one gear along its track into an open position.
03
Turn the whole puzzle
Rotate the complete mechanism to its underside and continue playing on the second surface.
Finish It
Watch Finish It think
Not a fourth action — the built-in helper. It combines real flips, slides, and turns to carry the board all the way home. Honestly: it earns zero points.
Clips are muted and play only when tapped. Use the controls to replay, pause, or view full screen.
The full difficulty ladder
One machine. Six very different knots.
Every level changes the metals, openings, scramble depth, and number of useful routes. Tap any board to enlarge it, then step through the ladder with the arrows.
2 metals · 5 openingsFree
BeginnerLearn the machine
Two metals and generous openings.
3 metals · 3 openingsFree
EasyLonger ways around
Longer routes and more self-blocking.
4 metals · 3 openingsFree
MediumPlan the whole route
The full machine begins to demand planning.
4 metals · 2 openingsComplete
HardOne shared hub
Four metals compete for the shared hub.
Banded core · solid rimComplete
ExpertNowhere to put anything
Only two openings and a deep scramble.
8 metals · 1 openingComplete
MasterThe full mechanism
The mechanism at full difficulty.
Proven difficulty
Think you’re good at puzzles?
Roselathe measures every scramble before you touch it — verifying a real solving route through that exact board and deriving its Par from the math, not a guess. The deepest boards are certified by an exact solver: the shortest possible solution is known precisely. Finding it is your problem.
17Best
22Excellent
27Par
37Comfort
An actual Master board. Best is the exact solver’s proven optimum — seventeen moves, and every one of them has to be right.
Three stars only at or under Par. A clean solve scores 100 points plus a bonus for every move under Par — worth more on harder levels.
Streaks are earned, not kept. Under-par solves build your streak; one sloppy solve ends it.
Seven ranks. Lifetime points climb from Apprentice to Master Gearwright. Almost nobody gets there.
Help is honest. Hints will save you — and cost you. Finish It always bails you out, for exactly zero points.
Beat Par once. Then find out how long you can keep doing it.
Forty years in the making
Named for the machine that turns metal into roses.
This puzzle is older than the app. Its designer carried the idea for more than forty years before the machine could finally be built — then went through hundreds of names looking for the right one. The one that fell into place was Roselathe: after the rose engine lathe, the old ornamental machine that turns metal into flowers, the engine behind guilloché watch dials and Fabergé eggs. It fit. One rim, four spokes, a rosette of machined gears, every gear turned home to its engraved mark.
Some ideas take forty years because they’re worth the wait.
Roselathe Complete
Unlock the deepest part of the machine once.
Hard, Expert, and Master are available through one optional purchase. No subscription. No ads. Buy it once and keep the complete puzzle.
App Store availability and final pricing will appear here when the listing is live.
A Mountain Bolt puzzle
Slide. Flip. Align.
A compact mechanical challenge, built without ads, tracking, pressure, or noise.